“Fuck,” he gasped. Catching his breath, he lay flat on his back. “We’re done for the day. I call it.”
I laugh, smiling triumphantly and let my hands fall. “I think I won.”
“Keep dreaming.”
He sat up and let his head fall. When he finally looked at me again, his eyes were full of worry.
“What? What’s wrong?”
He shook his head and let out a breath. “I feel like time’s running out.”
“What do you mean?” I whispered the question, but I already knew what he meant.
He toyed with his lip ring. “I have this antsy sense that something is brewing and we’re not going to like what it is.”
“What do we do? Leave?”
He sighed and slowly gathered to his feet. “Right now, this is the safest place for you. If I feel like we need to leave, we will.”
“What about Adelaide? Will she come with us?”
His eyes shuttered. “She’s not my charge. I’m not bound to protect her. It … it would be wrong of me to bring her with us.”
“We can’t leave her,” I told him. “We can’t.”
He pressed his lips together. “It’s too soon to think about this anyway.”
He turned away, but I saw the resoluteness in his eyes. I knew he was doing what he thought he had to do, but I thought he was wrong. If it did come to us having to leave I’d insist Adelaide came with us. The thought of leaving her behind after I had to leave Dani behind sucked.
Dani.
I hoped she was okay. I tried not to think of her often because it hurt too much. I worried about her safety. I was terrified of The Iniquitous getting ahold of her like they did my dad. I’d never forgive myself if someone else died because of me. There was already too much blood on my hands.
Theo and I headed back to my room and took turns showering before heading down for dinner.
I grabbed my food and sat down by Winston and Adelaide. Theo sat across from us and toyed with his spaghetti.
“Hey,” I greeted the two of them.
Adelaide only nodded at me. I knew she was still mad about Theo and I sneaking off all the time and not telling her why. Theo didn’t want me to tell her but I’d made up my mind to let her know. I didn’t like keeping her in the dark or the fact it was pushing her away. I missed her. In all this craziness, Adelaide was a much-needed light.
“I went by your room—you weren’t there,” Winston accused.
“I was studying,” I explained easily. It wasn’t a lie after all.
He shook his head and I saw his eyes flick quickly over to Theo and back down.
My stomach churned. I couldn’t keep letting this drag on. I liked Winston. He was a good guy and I wanted him to be my friend, but not my boyfriend. Right now, I was using him as a shield, and it was wrong of me.
“Mara really enjoys studying.” Adelaide looked pointedly at me and Theo glared at her.
“What can I say, I really want to succeed.”
“I’m sure you do,” she muttered. “I’m not hungry.” She stood and grabbed her plate, flipping her hair over her shoulder as she went.
“Adelaide,” I called after her.
“Let her go,” Theo said softly, his voice resigned.
I refused. Despite the fact I was starving, I left my food behind and ran after my friend. She was already halfway up the massive staircase.
“Adelaide,” I called again.
Her back stiffened and she stopped but she didn’t turn around.
I jogged up the steps and stopped on the same one as her. Grabbing her arm, I forced her to look at me.
She tilted her head and a defiant expression stole over her features.
“I know you’re mad at me—”
“Yeah, I am. Winston is your boyfriend yet you spend most of your time with my brother. How messed up is that? I know you and Theodore like each other and what you’re doing is wrong. You shouldn’t be sneaking around behind Winston’s back. I expect stunts like that from my brother, but I thought you were better than that.”
“Adelaide,” I breathed, stung she could really think something like that of me. “It’s not like that, not at all.”
She placed a hand on her hip and pursed her lips. “Really? You expect me to believe that?”
I looked around the open space, and despite no one being there I grabbed her arm and dragged her up the steps to my room.
When the door closed behind us I said, “Look, listen …,” I paused and took a breath. “Theo decided it would be a good idea if he started training me on top of my lessons. More combat stuff, and more … magic.”
“Seriously? That’s all? That’s your big secret?”
I shrugged. It sounded stupid now that I’d said it, but I hadn’t been the one who wanted to keep it hush-hush.
“Theo wouldn’t let me tell,” I admitted. “He knew you’d want to join and he was afraid of you getting hurt.”
She rolled her eyes. “Remind me to kick my brother the next time I see him.” She grew quiet and sighed. “So, my brother isn’t engaging in a secret relationship with you?”
“Nope. Not at all.”
“Well—” she smiled slowly “—I guess I can’t be mad anymore.”
“You did get one thing right,” I admitted softly.
“Oh?” She raised a brow.
I sighed and sat down on my bed. Nigel hissed and moved away.
“Oh, sorry, bud,” I muttered, not realizing I’d sat on his tail. Looking up at Adelaide, I said, “I need to break it off with Winston. It’s not right. Not when …”
“Not when what?” she prompted.
“When I have feelings for Theo,” I whispered. I hated speaking the words out loud. It sounded like I was giving voice to the impossible. Shaking my head, I continued, “This whole thing with Winston happened so fast. He … he just assumed we were together and I went along with it because I wanted to forget about Theo. I like Winston. He’s a good guy—great, even. But what I feel for him is nothing more than the love you feel for a friend.”
“Good to know, love.”
I gasped and looked up to find Winston standing in the doorway of my room. I hadn’t even heard it open. Theo stood behind him, his eyes boring into mine.
Winston turned harshly before I could reply and slammed his shoulder into Theo’s as he went.
Theo stepped into my room and the door closed behind him.
“That went well.”
Chapter 23
THAT’S THE WEIRDEST PLANT I’VE ever seen.” Adelaide made a face as she appraised the purple and blue plant in front of her called a heyosopal. It had a stem like a mushroom and grew with four round pustule-like heads, which glowed almost like a light in a room. We were tasked with extracting the insides of them and then were to make some kind of salve that could heal open wounds almost instantly.
“I think it’s kind of pretty.”
It was weird looking but with the colors, it wasn’t atrocious.
We heard a popping sound and then Owen groaned. “Ew, gross.”
We looked over and busted out laughing when we saw him covered in the yellow soup-like substance from the plant.
“Ugh, it smells like ass,” he gagged.
Adelaide frowned. “If it explodes on me like that I expect you to hose me down.”
I laughed. “You got it.”
I went over the directions in my head again and used the scalpel tool to cut one of the heads off the plant. I breathed a sigh of relief when nothing exploded.
I laid it in the container we’d been given and began to rub it, applying pressure.
After a minute some of the yellow liquid began to seep out. I continued to rub slowly and more came out. Soon, I’d emptied all of it.
I made quick work of the remaining three.
When everyone had managed to extract at least one, Diana, our teacher, began explaining how to use it.
I gasped when she raised the scalpel tool to her skin and slice
d open her forearm.
She rubbed some of the yellow liquid onto her fingers and then onto the cut.
Before our eyes, it began to close. Within a minute, only a thin pink line appeared.
“In about an hour there won’t even be a scar,” she explained. “These plants are an invaluable resource and, unfortunately, there aren’t many. But if you come across one, you’d be smart to collect the salve and save it. You never know when you might need it. Whatever you’ve managed to collect is yours to keep, but use it wisely. There are jars over there.” She nodded toward the wooden table in the back.
Adelaide and I each grabbed a jar and helped each other get the liquid into them without spilling a drop.
“I can’t believe she’s letting us keep this,” Adelaide admitted as we left the greenhouse.
“You better keep it safe,” Theo warned, walking behind us.
“Trust me, I will,” I told him.
After the dream I had of my real father saying he was coming for me, I wouldn’t take any risks.
We were heading to our magical theory lesson when all hell broke loose. An alarm began blaring loudly, almost like a fire alarm but somehow even more urgent sounding.
My heart dropped. “What’s that?” I turned panicked eyes to Theo.
He grabbed my hand. “Come on.” He began dragging me around as people ran.
There was a clatter behind us and I turned as we ran up the steps to see metal bars slamming down behind the doors, imprisoning us in the building.
Adelaide hurried behind us. “Theodore, what’s going on?” she demanded.
“No time.”
I swallowed thickly. Something told me this couldn’t be good.
We reached the top of the steps and nearly slammed into Winston. I hadn’t seen him since last night when he left my room. I wanted to apologize, to explain, but I hadn’t seen him at breakfast.
“Get her in my room,” Winston told Theo.
Theo paused, glaring at him. “No.”
“Don’t be an idiot,” yelled Winston. “My room’s untraceable. It’s the safest place in here.”
“He has a point,” Adelaide added.
Theo groaned. “Fine,” he bit out.
The four of us ran down the hall to his room. The alarm still blaring and the sound of feet slamming against the floor downstairs echoing up to our ears. It sounded like there were more people here than normal. I didn’t see how that could be a good thing.
Winston unlocked the door to his room and we all tumbled inside. He closed the door behind us and pocketed the key.
“What’s happening?” I asked again.
Theo shook his head. “I don’t know. The alarm can mean any number of things. Most of them not good.”
“Great,” I sighed and sank down onto the floor, resting my head against the wall.
Winston crept over to his window and looked out. “I don’t see anything.”
“Should we be hiding like this?” I asked. “What if the wrong people are here and they decide to burn the place down?”
“They’re not in the building or else we wouldn’t have gone into lockdown,” Theo explained. “But they could be on the grounds, or coming, or it could be a false alarm.
“How will we know when it’s safe?”
He sighed and sat down on the floor beside me, stretching his legs out. “Soon, I hope.”
“Has this ever happened before?” I asked.
The three of them all shook their heads. My chest seized with even more worry. There was no telling what was out there—who was out there.
Theo stood. “I need to get to my room.”
Panic clouded my vision. “You can’t leave.”
“I have to. If I need to protect you I’m going to need more than my fists.”
With those words, he slipped from the room before I could blink.
“If he doesn’t get killed I’m going to kill him,” I vowed.
I couldn’t stand the thought of sitting while Theo was gone, so I stood and paced the room. Winston and Adelaide sat on his bed, a foot of space between them. Adelaide worried her lip between her teeth and Winston kept running his fingers through his hair.
Our worry and dread lay thick in the air and if we didn’t know something soon I feared it might suffocate us.
There was a soft knock on the door. “It’s me,” hissed Theo.
“Thank God.” I grabbed the door and swung it open and he stepped inside and around me with a giant ass sword.
“Where do you keep that thing?” I demanded.
“In my room, like I said. It’s not exactly easy to carry around. I have another that’s a dagger I can make bigger with a spell, but this baby is my one true love.” He stroked the sword lovingly.
“Did you learn anything?” Winston asked him.
He shook his head and in the same moment, the alarm stopped blaring.
Theo stood frozen and listened carefully. “This is either good or very, very bad.”
I swallowed thickly, and a sweat broke out over my brow. I felt so unprepared for what might be out there.
Minutes of silence passed. Neither of us dared to speak or even take a breath.
Suddenly, there was a screeching like an intercom coming on. Sure enough, a moment later, Victor’s voice echoed through the manor.
“The manor has been placed into lockdown. Please head to the dining hall for further explanation. Thank you.”
More screeching and then silence.
My heart skipped a beat.
What if he’s found me?
I knew Thaddeus finding me would not be a good thing. He could say what he wanted about us being a family, but I knew in my heart he was lying.
“Come on.” Theo reached for my hand. “We better hear what’s going on, but stay close to me just in case.”
We filed out of the room, Theo taking the lead. He kept hold of my hand, like he was afraid if he let go I might be lost forever.
We reached the dining hall and it seemed we were some of the last to arrive. A few others trickled in behind us and then the doors closed on their own with a mighty bang.
We took a seat and Victor stood in front of the doors, a solemn look on his face.
“We’ve received word that the New York safe house has been compromised. There were many casualties and for that reason, we’ve chosen to place the manor on lockdown for the foreseeable future. Your lives are far too important to sit by idly.”
“How many casualties?” Finn asked.
Victor cleared his throat. “All of them. There were approximately fifty there.”
Silence descended upon the room.
“We will be fortifying the spells protecting the manor. Your safety is of the utmost importance, I assure you.” His eyes lingered on me. “If we find out any more news we will let you know. Right now, all we know is it was an attack by The Iniquitous and we can only assume if they find out where we are they’ll come here next.”
A shiver of fear ran down my spine.
“For now, return to your rooms and relax if you can. Dinner will be served at its usual time.”
Victor turned around and faced the doors; waving his hand they swung open and he strode out.
Theo stood, his sword still grasped in his hand. His face was dark, his eyes lost in thought.
Finally, he shook his head. “I don’t like this,” he muttered. “I don’t like this at all.”
“Pack a bag,” Theo commanded when we were back in my room.
“Why? Are we leaving?”
He peered out my bedroom window. “No, not yet. But I want you to have a bag packed if we need to.”
I didn’t argue with him, because I knew he was right.
“I’ll be right back,” he muttered, and disappeared from my room.
Nigel cracked an eye open as he left but quickly went back to his nap.
I found a large backpack, black and sturdy with a million different pockets, in the back of the closet. I piled several pai
rs of fighting pants—leather with straps for weapons—in them, along with fitted black tops. I tossed in a pair of walking boots and sneakers before adding in the jar of salve I’d collected in botany class this morning. I placed the backpack on the floor and added in the box from my mother. I figured it must be important since Theo had insisted I bring it with me, so I didn’t want to leave it behind if we left in a hurry.
I was backing out of my closet when Theo slipped into my room.
“Here, I want you to have this in your bag.” He held out a dagger to me. It was short but dangerously sharp with emerald stones in the hilt.
“It’s beautiful,” I breathed, taking it from him gently like it was a child I needed to be careful with.
“I’m glad you like it,” he said, and for once his words were genuine, not sarcastic.
I stared at the dagger a moment longer before slipping it into my bag.
“I think we should go to the library to practice. We’re running out of time.”
He looked over my shoulder as he said the words, almost as if he was viewing something else entirely. I’m sure he was as scared as me about what would happen if we were attacked and I couldn’t defend myself efficiently. Theo might be my protector but if we had multiple assailants he’d only be able to do so much.
“That’s a good idea,” I agreed.
He shook his head and his eyes cleared as he came back to me.
We snuck out of my room and up to the attic library. I didn’t think it was actually considered an attic, but since it was at the very top of the manor I decided to call it that.
Theo pulled out one of the chairs and collapsed into it. He shoved his fingers through his curly hair and groaned.
“I don’t even know where to begin. I don’t want to push you too hard too fast, but I’m afraid it’s necessary,” he said more to himself than me.
I sat down beside him. “We’ll do what we can, okay?”
He nodded. “But what if it’s not enough?”
“What if it is?” I countered.
He nodded again, more firmly this time. “I want you to know, if they come for you, the most important thing is to run first, fight later if you have to.”
“Where would I even go?”
“Honestly, with the New York safe house now compromised I wouldn’t even know what to tell you. Just run and hide. Stay under the radar.”
Enchant (The Enchanted Book 1) Page 21
